


Tangled Harmony

by NightSHadoew



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23595760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightSHadoew/pseuds/NightSHadoew
Summary: What if Harry grew up locked in a tower instead of a cupboard? What if Hermione wasn't a bright student at Hogwarts but a witch on the run who helped magical creatures?  H/Hr Tangled! AU (loosely based)I am not sure this story is the answer to those questions, but those are the questions I had in mind while I was writing this fic.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	1. The Tower

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UntoldHarmony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntoldHarmony/gifts).



> I was just chilling in Harmony discord one day and one of the admins said she wanted to read read Disney inspired Harmony fics. As soon as I heard that this idea came to me. Hope you guys enjoy it.
> 
> Thanks to Marie_J_Granger and Rafilar for betaing this chapter.

Hermione walked through the dense forest towards the tall tower that poked out of the roof of the forest. She was days away from the closest human settlement, which meant the building could only be one thing, a Magical Creature Domestication Institute. She had seen many Domestication Institutes before, but she had never seen one like this. All of the Institutes she had seen looked like barracks, short but wide, whereas this one was a tower that rivaled the archery towers of most kingdoms walls and was easily visible from hours of walking away. It was almost like the noble or royal who ordered its construction wanted to keep the creatures inside as far away from them as possible.

She still remembered seeing the inside of one of the Magical Creature Domestication Institute for the first time, the image of the elves and goblins in iron cages with whip marks covering their was still burned into her mind. After that day, she promised herself that she was going to do everything she could to help the poor creatures trapped inside the Domestication Institute even if she couldn’t help the ones being forced to serve humans inside the many kingdoms that covered the Isles. 

After two hours of walking, she finally reached the clearing of the tower as the sun was setting. The first thing she noticed was the layer of moss that was covering the bottom of the tower. The second, and even odder, thing she noticed the narrow road leading to the tower. Usually, Domestication Institute had massive roads connecting them to kingdoms. ‘Maybe this one has been abandoned.’ she thought to herself. While she didn’t like the idea of staying in a former Domestication Institute, but the idea of having a roof over her head was just too alluring. She surveyed her surroundings, seeing no guards around she felt comfortable leaving the safety of the forest foliage. 

She carefully walked towards the door. She tried to open it, but to her surprise, the door was locked. ‘Maybe this placed isn’t abandoned after all.’ she thought. She pressed her ear against to door but couldn’t hear anything, no guards talking or elves screaming. She knocked on the door as hard as she could before running towards the jungle and hiding behind a bush. She waited for several minutes, but no one came out of the tower. She breathed a sigh of relief if the building wasn’t abandoned; someone would have definitely come out to answer her knock. She walked towards the door again, almost giddy with the possibility of sleeping in a bed for the first time in months. She examined the built-in lock, closed her eyes, and focused with all her might and whispered “Alohomora.” and the lock clicked open. 

She walked inside, surveying her surroundings. The inside of the tower was far cleaner then she predicted, but it was still covered in dust. It was also baren of any furniture, only having a stair leading up. ‘Maybe this wasn’t an Institute building before being abandoned.’ she thought. Seeing nowhere she could sleep comfortably at the entrance; she climbed up the stairs. She came across another locked door and used her magic to open it as well. 

The room she entered was far different than the rest of the tower. For starters, it wasn’t covered in dust and actually furnished with a simple desk and two chairs while a simple, but large, glassless window let the moonlight in. She also noticed there were two doors that were facing each other. She decided to investigate the door to her left first. Unlike the other two doors, she came across in the tower; this one wasn’t locked. When she opened the door, she almost screamed, the room had an actual bookshelf, also eliminated by the moonlight, that housed at least twenty books. The prospect of reading a book other than the small one she had was enough for her to not even question why they were there. She picked up the book bound in red leather and opened it trying to read it under the faint moonlight the window let in. She hadn’t even finished reading the first page when she heard a loud gasp coming from the door she just came through. When she looked, she saw a boy that looked about her age with bright green eyes and untidy black hair. She was surprised to see him in a seemingly abandoned tower, but she could see the boy was terrified of her and looked ready to run away at any moment. 

“Who… Who are you?” the boy asked, almost whispering. 

“My name is Hermione, what is yours?” she replied in the softest voice she could manage. 

“Harry.” the boy replied in an even lower voice than before.


	2. The Boy in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione meets the resident of the tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to Rafilar for betaing this chapter.

"Harry." the boy replied in an even lower voice than before "My name is Harry.". 

"Well, Harry, it's nice to meet you." Hermione said giving him the kindest smile she could muster. She took a step forward but Harry took a step back. 

"You shouldn't be here," Harry said retreating even further back and clutching his hands above his chest. 

"I'm… I'm not going to hurt you." Hermione said trying to calm him down. 

"No, you don't understand; you shouldn't be here." he said, clutching his hands even tighter. Questions flooded Hermione's mind, who was that boy, why was he scared and why was he in this tower. She pushed those questions to the back of her mind, she needed to get Harry to calm down first then she could learn the answers. 

"Harry, it's alright, no one is going to hurt you." Hermione said taking a step back to give Harry more room. 

"No, no, you shouldn't be here." Harry said his eyes, again, drifting to Hermione's right; Hermione followed his gaze to see burnt remains of what appeared to be a chair and scorch marks covering the entirety of the wall behind it. She took a step closer to examine it but was stopped by Harry grabbing her arm. Before she could say or do anything, Harry, noticing what he was doing, let go of her arm and backed away, clutching his hands again. 

Gears started to turn in Hermione's head; this didn't make any sense. At first, Hermione thought Harry was scared of her, but if that were the case he wouldn't have touched or her just then. The scorch mark didn't make sense either; it was just too big to be caused by a simple chair burning. Then Hermione's eyes fell on Harry and she noticed the way he was clutching his hands, he was holding them like he didn't want them to do anything. It was just like the way held her hands the first time she had used magic. With that everything clicked into place. 

"You are a wizard." Hermione said, trying to process the information as she was saying it. Hearing Hermione's words changed Harry's expression from one of fear to a look of panic. 

"How did… No, I am notafreakIamnotawizard." Harry blurted out in panic, his tone confirming Hermione's suspicions. Harry was a wizard. 

Hermione didn't know what to do with this information; she had never actually met another witch or wizard before. Sure she always dreamed about meeting one, someone who could help her understand magic and why she was cursed with it. This wasn't the scenario she imagined. Harry seemed to know less about magic than she did. While those thoughts were flying through her head, she noticed Harry's expression. He looked like he was about to break down. Hermione remembered how hard for her to accept she that was a witch, a freak, one of the things her mother had warned her to stay away from. The first couple of days after she ran away from home were some of the worst in her life. During those days; no one was there to comfort her, to tell her she wasn't a freak. She had hoped the first witch or wizard she met would be able to help her - not the other way around. But she just couldn't turn her back to Harry after seeing him scared like this.

"It's alright, I am a witch. I am like you." Hermione said trying to sound calm and reassuring. 

Harry's eyes widened, "You are? You can do weird stuff, too? Stuff like that." Harry said gesturing towards the burnt remains of the chair. 

"Yeah, it's called magic, want me to show you?" Hermione asked, trying to sound calmer than how she was feeling. Harry gave her the slightest of nods. She took a breath to calm herself. She had never shown her magic to someone before, not intentionally at least. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Harry by trying and failing to use one of the spells she had learned recently, or worse scaring him again by using some of the more violent or weird spells she knew. With that in mind, she decided to use the first spell she had learned; she knew she wouldn't screw it up, and hopefully it wouldn't scare Harry either. She pointed a finger towards the book she was reading before Harry came into the room, closed her eyes and focused. "Wingardium Leviosa." With her words; the book levitated from the table. She moved her finger up and down; the book followed her fingers movements. She then lowered the book gently to the ground. She turned back to Harry to see a look of pure amazement in his eyes. 

"How did you do that?" he asked like it was the first time he had seen magic "How did you manage to make it do what you wanted it to do?". 

Hermione blushed slightly at Harry's compliment "It's not that big of a deal, really. It's a really basic spell, the first one I learned, in fact." Hermione said feeling a bit embarrassed. 

"What's a spell?" Harry asked looking genuinely confused. 

Hermione looked at him dumbfounded, how could anyone - let alone a wizard - not know what a spell was. Hermione was about to asked Harry how could he not know what a spell was when she saw the look of awe in his eyes, and with that her frustrations vanished. "A spell is a way to control magic." she said calmly.

"I didn't know you could control magic. You said that was the first spell you learned. Do you know other spells?" Harry asked, his green eyes shining with curiosity and wonder. 

"I can do a couple of other spells." Hermione replied feeling even more embarrassed. After thinking for a few seconds on which spell to use, she pointed her finger towards the ceiling between her and Harry. "Lumos.". An orb of white light appeared on the tip of her finger drowning out the dim light of the moon. 

"Woah." Harry said looking at the orb of light. "Can you teach me how to do that? How to control magic." he asked, not looking away from the orb, like it was the best thing he had ever seen. 

Hermione hesitated; should she tell Harry about the book of Emrys, tell him about the book from where she learned her spells. She didn't want to give away her secret, it was just too risky, but she couldn't find it in her heart to turn down Harry when he looked like that. In the end she decided to teach Harry what she knew but leave out where she learned it. Hermione slowly let the light fade away than turned to Harry. "I am not that good at it, but I can teach you what I know.". 

As soon as Harry heard her reply, he pulled her into a tight hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." he said into her shoulder. 

The sudden hug caught Hermione by surprise, but she quickly returned the hug. Hugging felt nice, she used to hug her parents, especially her father, all the time. She missed hugging her father. Before she could fully realize that she wasn't hugging her father, Harry ended the hug, just as abruptly as he started it. 

"Uh… sorry about that." Harry said blushing and looking down. 

"It's alright." Hermione replied, a similar blush covering her face. 

There was a long stretch of awkward silence where both teens couldn't look at each other. "Umm, I, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in this tower." Hermione asked breaking the silence. 

"I sort of live here." Harry said holding his arm nervously. 

"Ohh, well, it's a… lovely place, but a bit too far away, don't you think. It must be hard to carry all of your shopping." Hermione said with a quiet, nervous laugh trying to lighten the conversation. 

"I.. I have never actually left." Harry said, looking down. 

"What do you mean you have never left the tower, how did you get food or clothes or anything?" Hermione asked a bit harsher than she intended to. 

"I… It's just. People just bring that stuff here once a week." Harry said looking scared again. 

Now it was Hermione who looked confused. "What do you mean people bring that stuff to you? What people?". 

"I don't know they just push that stuff through the small gap in the door. I have never seen them." Harry replied sounding embarrassed. 

"Harry" Hermione said, trying to sound gentle "Have you ever left this tower?".

"No."

With that reply, Hermione felt her heart break. Harry wasn't living in this tower, not really, he was imprisoned here. This wasn't a home; it was a cage. 'But why, why would someone build a tower to imprison a wizard. Most people either run away from wizards or kill them on the spot. I have never heard of someone locking a wizard in a tower.' she thought to herself. Every answer Harry gave just birthed more questions. But all of those questions could wait; right now, there was only one question that mattered "Harry, would you like to leave, go outside for the first time?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I need to address something, Rafilar told me that I shouldn't put punctuation inside the quotes, but we put them in my native language. It's what I have been doing all my life, so I will be continuing to do that. I know it's wrong, but I will continue to do that since not putting them feels wrong, and no one is grading my work here.


	3. A Day in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Harry and Hermione's first day go? Will they get along? Will they argue? Find out in this chapter of Tangled Harmony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Rafilar for betaing this chapter.

Every answer Harry gave just birthed more questions. But all of those questions could wait; right now, there was only one question that mattered. "Harry, would you like to leave, go outside for the first time?"

"We can't leave the tower. There is only one door, and it's locked." Harry said.

"It was until I opened it. How do you think I got in?" Hermione said. She felt a bit annoyed that she had to state the obvious.

"Yeah, that makes sense. But I have things to do, I need to clean my bedroom, and—" Harry was about to list more excuses, but Hermione interrupted him.

"Harry, you don't need to clean anything. The door is open. You can leave. You are not a prisoner anymore." Hermione said. Her temper grew as she spoke.

Harry took a step towards Hermione. "But I am not a prisoner here. This is my home," he said in a loud but shaky voice.

Hermione felt her anger disappear. Harry wasn't a house elf or a goblin that was being tortured, nor was he a magical creature that was captured and put in a cage. No, Harry was someone who grew up in a tower and never left. Hermione knew the world outside, but Harry didn't. He didn't know what freedom was. He was robbed of it. With that thought, her anger began to grow again until another thought came to her as well. But he is safe. He may not be free, but he was safe. He didn't need to sleep out in the open or run away from soldiers as she did. She took a deep breath to calm her self. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to upset you. It's not fair that you are locked up here. There is a whole world out there that you weren't allowed to see. It's just not fair."

"What is it like?" Harry said, his eyes drifting towards the window. "What's it like out there?"

"It's beautiful, Harry. The night sky with all of it stars. The ocean is beautiful, and its smell, there is nothing like it." She just wanted to tell Harry how beautiful the world was, but she couldn't leave out the ugly parts. She couldn't lie to Harry. "But it's not safe for people like us. Humans fear magic, and they hunt anything that can use magic." 

"Have they ever hunted you?" Harry asked in a gentle voice.

Hermione's hand went to hold an old scar over her left arm. "They did, multiple times until I learned how to hide my magic." Hermione said, her voice shaking.

"Then why do you want me to go out there? Why do you want to go out there?" Harry asked, sounding worried, he paused for a moment. "You don't have to go out there either. You can stay here with me." he said the last part with a blush.

What Harry said sounded so nice, not having to run away from people, not worrying about hiding her magic and not being alone, actually having a friend. She could imagine staying with Harry in the tower, telling him stories about the world, teaching him magic, reading together. She wanted to stay, but she knew she couldn't, no matter how nice it sounded. "I can't, Harry. I can't force you to leave, but I can't stay here. There are people who need me."

"Why? You said it yourself people hate us, why do you want to leave?"

"Because we aren't the only ones humans hate. There are house-elves and goblins. Humans use them as slaves, and if they don't do what they are told, they are sent to places called Magical Creature Domestication Institutes." Hermione hugged herself as the images of the Institutes she had seen rushed into her head. "It's horrible. They lock the poor creatures in cages. They torture them to make them 'behave'. I can't just stay here while there are goblins and house elves out there being tortured!" Hermione didn't mean to raise her voice, but she couldn't help it. She looked at Harry, expecting him to look back at her scared. But he didn't seem to be scared; he wasn't even looking at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Harry said in a small voice.

"It's alright, Harry, you couldn't have known."

Harry paused for some time before speaking again, "How about just today?"

"What today?" Hermione asked confused

"Just stay for today. You'll be safe here, and I can cook you something in the morning before you have to go. You can even have my bed." 

Hermione wanted to refuse, but she was tired, and she didn't want to go looking for another spot to sleep when the sun had already set. "And it's just one night; it can't hurt. I haven't slept in a bed for almost two months. Wait, no, I can't sleep in his bed; it wouldn't be proper." she thought to herself. "Alright, I guess I can stay for one night, but I can't take your bed. I can just sleep here." Hermione said.

"But the floor! It's not—" Harry's protest was cut short by Hermione.

"It's fine, Harry, really. I have slept in worse places." she said in a final tone. She could see pity in Harry's eyes; it wasn't a look she was used to.

"Well, if you say so. Just ask if you need anything then." Harry said hesitantly

"Well… I was wondering if I could read some of your books?" Hermione asked. She couldn't resist the idea of reading new things.

"Sure, read whatever you want." Harry said with a genuine smile. "Good night Hermione." he said and left the room.

Hermione put away her satchel and picked up the book she was reading before. She leaned against the window and began to read. She wasn't even done reading one page when she heard Harry's voice.

"Umm, Hermione, can I come in?"

The fact that Harry was asking permission to enter one of his rooms amused her. "Sure." Harry entered the room carrying what looked to be a pillow, a simple brown bedsheet, and a blanket made out of what appeared to be fur.

"I thought you might want something to keep the cold away." Harry said, his face hidden behind the pillow.

Hermione put her book down and took the stuff from Harry. As soon as she touched them, her suspicions were confirmed. "Harry, this is a fur blanket, I can't take this from you." 

"Why?" Harry asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Does it make you itch?"

"Harry, this must be incredibly expensive. I can't sleep with this." Hermione said, her eyes glued to the blanket.

"Really. I didn't know." Harry said, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I have two more, just like this, so it's not a big problem. Really."

"Well, if that's the case… Thank you, Harry." she said with a small, genuine smile.

"Don't mention it, Hermione. Well, good night." Harry turned away before Hermione could see his cheeks turning pink.

Hermione laid the bedsheet next to the window before she laid the blanket on top of it. "I can't believe I am going to sleep with a fur blanket." she thought to herself. She froze in place when she picked up the pillow. It wasn't stuffed with reed as she expected; instead, it was stuffed with feathers. She pressed the pillow against her face. She couldn' believe how soft it was. She gently put the pillow against the window before laying on it. She could believe her luck. When she first entered the tower, she was expecting to find elves trapped in cages; instead, she found a gentle boy who gave her a fur blanket, a feather pillow, a place to sleep, and a book to read. 

She looked at the comforts Harry had given her. She had been using her bag as a pillow for so long that she couldn't even imagine sleeping with a proper pillow every night, and she had never used a fur blanket in her life before. She couldn't enjoy these luxuries for long; she knew that. What she didn't know was if she was willing to take these luxuries away from Harry.

She shook her head, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. She could decide later; for now, she wanted to read. Who knew when she would find the opportunity to read another book? She opened the book and began reading the tales about a chivalrous knight who helped villagers however he could.

* * *

Hermione woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread. It may have been the best thing she smelled in a long time. She wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she felt incredibly well-rested. She got up from her makeshift bed and followed the smell. She went through the door to the right of the window and found herself in a kitchen. It was a large room with a furnace, a counter, and a fireplace. She found Harry standing in front of the oven with a wooden paddle. "Good morning Harry."

Harry jumped and turned around before realizing who it was. "Morning, Hermione. I hope you slept well." he said, smiling.

"I did. Thank you for letting me use the pillow and the blanket." she said before the smell of the bread overcame her again, and her eyes slid over to the oven.

"The bread is almost done, and I have already cooked the broth. I hope you like mutton." 

"That's very nice of you, but I am not…" before Hermione could finish her sentence, her stomach growled at the promise of food. She quickly covered her stomach with her hands, but it wasn't enough to silence it. She looked at Harry to see him barely holding back a laugh.

"I think your stomach disagrees with you." Harry said with a smirk.

Hermione felt her cheeks burning. "Maybe I am a bit hungry." she said, unable to look at Harry.

It wasn't long before the bread was cooked. They sat across from each other in the small table in the kitchen. The food was delicious. She must have looked hungrier than she thought because Harry put another cup of broth and a fresh loaf of bread in front of her before she even finished her first serving. 

Three servings later, Hermione's stomach was finally satisfied. She handed her bowl to Harry for him to put it away. "Thank you, Harry. It was delicious."

"Don't mention it. I liked cooking for someone else for a change. I would ask if you liked it, but after three servings, I think I can guess your answer." Harry said, smiling. 

Hermione felt her cheek flush once again. "It was delicious, Harry. Thank you for feeding me and letting me stay the night. If there is anything I can do for you, please tell me."

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me more about the outside world. I have some books that talk about things like the sea, or mountains, or a village." Harry said nervously.

Hermione felt like she was punched in the gut when she remembered Harry's situation. She gave him a small smile, "Of Course. What do you want to talk about first?"

Harry's eyes glowed with excitement. "Can you tell me about the sea? Is it really endless? Is it really salty?" he blurted out. 

Unable to hold back, Hermione laughed. She had never seen anyone that excited over the sea. She managed to stop herself when she saw the embarrassed look on Harry's face. "I'm sorry it was that you were so excited. I couldn't help myself. I promise I won't laugh again. " she said. She took a breath to calm herself. "I grew up inland, but I have seen the sea a few times. It's really big, but it's not endless. I have seen some people who came from overseas. And it's really salty. The first time I saw it I tried to drink from it. I can say that it wasn't one of my better ideas." It wasn't a good memory, but when she saw the way Harry was listening to her every word, she couldn't help but smile. "It may not have tasted good, but it smelled nice. I don't even know how to describe it. It was salty but refreshing at the same time."

For hours they continued to talk about all sorts of things: the sea, mountains, villages, different animals. Hermione answered Harry's every question as best as she could, but she left out the worst parts. The parts that weren't good topics for a light-hearted conversation. 

Hermione was telling Harry about one of the fishing villages she had visited when her stomach growled. She quickly covered up her stomach with her hands.

Harry gave her a small smile before getting up from his chair, "Does beef stew sound good to you? I cooked some yesterday. There should be enough left over for the two of us. And I can make rabbit stew for dinner if you want."

"Beef stew sounds good." she said. She wanted to tell him that she couldn't stay for dinner, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell Harry that.

"Okay then. Can you light the fire while I bring the stew?" he said, smiling before he entered what Hermione assumed to be the storage room.

"Should have just told him then, Granger." she thought to herself. She turned to the fireplace. It was a simple fireplace big enough to fit a medium cauldron with a basic chimney. She tossed some logs that were stacked beside the fireplace into it before pointing a finger to the wood. "Incendio." The wood burst into flames instantly. She felt proud of herself as she looked at roaring flames. When she first started to learn magic, it took so much concentration and effort to produce a spark, let alone start a fire, but nowadays she could start a fire with almost zero effort.

"Wow, that was quick." Harry said, causing Hermione to jump slightly. He was carrying a cauldron in his left hand.

"Magic can be handy sometimes."

Harry hanged the cauldron above the fire, "I can imagine. It takes me a couple of minutes to get a fire roaring like that." He stared at the flames for a few seconds before speaking again, "Can you teach me how to control it?" he said, still looking at the flame.

"Well, it's not easy at first, and it can take a long time. It's not something you can learn in a day." Hermione said hesitantly.

"I can already start a fire. I just need you to teach me how to control it."

"The chair?" 

"It was the only time I used magic. It was when I learned I was a wizard." Harry said, still looking at the flames.

"Harry, magic doesn't work that way. Just because you did something without meaning doesn't mean it will be easy to do it intentionally. The first time I used magic, I made a bug disappear, but I haven't been able to do something like that again. It will take a long time for you to learn how to control your magic." Hermione hesitantly put a hand on Harry's shoulder and turned him towards herself. He looked nothing like the boy he was talking to a few minutes ago. He looked scared, and his eyes were watery. The sight of Harry's made her hesitate, but she couldn't delay it anymore. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't stay here that long."

"Then, I will come with you." Harry said, holding back tears.

"Harry, you can't come with me. It's dangerous out there. I can't count the number of times I almost died. It's…" Hermione's protest was cut short by Harry's.

"I don't care. I can help you. I can carry your stuff or cook. I can be useful." Harry couldn't hold back his tears any more "Please don't leave, I promise I can be useful."

Hermione felt her heath break into a thousand pieces. She had forgotten Harry had never met anyone before her. She had forgotten he has been alone all his life. She scolded herself for forgetting that, for forgetting how it felt to be alone. She drew Harry into a tight hug. He went stiff for a couple of seconds before relaxing and hugging her back. He cried onto her shoulder, muttering, "Please don't leave me." over and over again. Each time he said that Hermione replied the same way, "I won't, I promise." as tears rolled down her own face.

Hermione didn't know for how long they stood like that. They only separated when both of them stopped crying. Harry did his best to avoid looking at Hermione, but Hermione could still see the dried tear tracks on his face. She suspected her face had similar marks. 

"Thank you." Harry whispered, still avoiding looking at her. Harry suddenly turned around and walked to the counter, "Well, the stew should be ready by now." He grabbed two bowls and filled them with stew before putting them on the table alongside some bread. They ate in comfortable silence. When they finished Harry put the bowls away before sitting across from Hermione again. "So when do we leave?" he asked.

Harry's question caught Hermione by surprise. Of course, she wanted to leave as soon as possible, but she couldn't allow Harry to come with her. Not when he had no way to defend himself, but she couldn't leave him behind either. She promised she wouldn't leave him. She taught for a long time before answering. "Harry, I don't think it wise for you to leave. The world is dangerous for people like us, and you don't know how to use magic yet."

"But you said I could come with you." Harry said, panicked.

"No. I said I wouldn't leave you, and I won't, I promise, but leaving when you have no way of defending yourself would be too dangerous. So we will be staying here until you learn some defensive spells." Hermione said in a calm voice.

"You are going to stay!" Harry said, surprised.

"Until you learn to take care of yourself, yes. We may need to go outside sometimes since I doubt the people who bring you supplies would bring enough for two people, but other than that, yes, we will stay here."

Harry beamed at her, "That's great. But I am out of food, I am going to need to cook some for dinner. I can roast something or make stew or anything else you like for dinner."  
Hermione smiled at Harry's enthusiasm, "You said you could make rabbit stew, I haven't eaten that in a long time."

"Rabbit stew. I can do that." Harry said before getting up and heading to the storage room to get the necessary ingredients. A minute later he came back, carrying the ingredients. Hermione answered more of Harry's questions about the world while Harry prepared their dinner. She tried to help, but Harry shooed her away, claiming she was cutting the potatoes wrong. They talked and just enjoyed each other's company until the sun went down.

When both of them grew tired, Harry insisted Hermione sleep on his bed, but Hermione refused. Eventually, they came to a compromise. They would take some straw from Harry's bed and make Hermione a bed in the library. After her bed was ready, Harry wished her good night and went to his own room to sleep. Instead of going to sleep right away, Hermione took out the book of Emrys, some parchment, some ink, and a quill. She was nervous about writing something since neither parchment or ink was easy to come by, but she wanted to make a list of spells she thought that would be most useful for Harry. She went through the spells contained in the old and battered books, writing down the spells she thought Harry should learn alongside some tips about them. After writing down seven spells, Hermione was satisfied with her work. She carefully put the book, ink, and the quill back into her satchel before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting history fact: Potatoes were introduced to Britain in the 1580s. This means there shouldn't be potatoes in my story since it's historically inaccurate,but so is magic sooooo...


End file.
